Originally Posted by
AlwaysAisle
I saw JAL pilot interview on JAL YouTube channel, it is in Japanese. This pilot flies A350 and said A350 has smaller space in flight deck compared with 777s. In A350 there is enough space for just one mid-size roll-a-board, no space for all the pilots. JAL A350 pilots ckeck their bags and wait at a baggage claim like other passengers. At JAL crew baggage do not come out before OneWorld elites. The pilot was asked if he can store their belongings in passenger cabin and this JAL pilot said no.
JAL international crews only do out and back international trips.
US carrier crew scheduling is much more complex. The FA might be on reserve or scheduled to go to Wichita and they get reassigned to a London flight at the last minute after a sick call. If they check bags, they might not be able to take the reassignment because there is not enough time to check the bag or they have to delay the new flight because the FA has to get their bags out of the hold of the flight they were previously assigned to.
That is why US carrier FA's do not check their bags.